The Park

Architectural Rendering
View from Park
09-07-17

The Park

The project includes the creation of a one-acre park, designed by Laurie Olin, where the West Heating Plant’s walled-off coal yard now sits. The park creates an important link between the highly celebrated Georgetown Waterfront Park and Rock Creek Park. It helps realize the National Capital Planning Commission’s 1987 approved plan for the Georgetown Waterfront Park linking the waterfront with the C&O Canal and Rock Creek parks.

OLIN’s concept design is inspired by the site’s rich industrial history. The park’s three-tiered water feature is reminiscent of a series of canal locks while simultaneously serving as a gesture to the steam plant’s coal conveyer tunnel. The machinery in the plant’s coal yard inspired many of the park’s design elements, including the metal pergola running along 29th Street NW as well as the metal staircase that links the park to the path along Rock Creek. A large metal beam physically connects the park and the new residential building, unifying the entire two-acre site, and creating a coherent design language between the new residential building and the park.